1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An inkjet recording apparatus which incorporate a nozzle head having nozzles has conventionally been known wherein ink is ejected from the nozzles while the nozzle head is moved in the width direction of a recording medium, whereby recording on the recording medium is performed. An inkjet recording apparatus which incorporates a line head having nozzles arranged to cover the entire width of a recording medium in view of higher recording rate has conventionally been known wherein recording is performed without moving the head. (For example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-52910 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-103638.)
In the inkjet recording apparatuses, nozzles can be clogged or a nozzle surface can be stained during continuous ejection of ink for recording. Thus, it is necessary to periodically clean the nozzle surface. The inkjet recording apparatuses generally incorporate a nozzle surface cleaner which comes in close contact with the nozzle surface for cleaning the nozzle surface.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-103638 discloses that a line cleaner which has an elongated shape in consideration of an elongated line head is placed along the direction in which the recording medium is transferred at an external position which deviates from a recording medium in the width direction. A longitudinal end of the line head is pivotally supported. By rotating the line head by 90° around a pivotal axis, the line head alternately moves between a recording position on a recording medium and a cleaning position on the cleaner. Since this recording apparatus incorporates the line cleaner placed along the transfer direction of the recording medium, the size of the recording apparatus increases along the transfer direction of the recording medium.
The line head disclosed in the above document is structured such that a plurality of colors of inks are ejected from a single line head. Thus, only one line cleaner is needed. Alternatively, a line head structure including a plurality of line heads, from respective one of which different colors of inks are ejected, is also possible. In this structure, a plurality of line cleaners are required for a plurality of line heads on a one-to-one basis. In the case where a plurality of elongated line cleaners are provided along the transfer direction of the recording medium, an enormously large space is occupied by the cleaners along the transfer direction of the recoding medium. As a result, the size of the recording apparatus further increases.